In April 2009 a group of Russian Access teachers from six cities:
Kushekova Elmira – Ufa,
Nokhov Mikhail – Khasavyurt,
Tsrimova Zalina- Nalchik,
Filimonenko Larisa- Novo-Cherkask,
Momoldaeva Tatiana- Elista,
Katantseva Natalia- Rostov on Don, and
Budanova Bakul – Elista
Got the following letter from Hawaii Pacific University which invited us to participate in the work of a Summer Institute
2009 English Language Educators Summer Institute
Hawaii Pacific University
Honolulu, Hawaii USA
7-30 June 2009
Academic Program
During the past year, faculty in applied linguistics at Hawaii Pacific University, in conjunction with the U.S. Department of State’s Office of English Language Programs (ECA/A/L), have been designing two sets of materials that we hope will be of benefit to you in your own English classes.
The first set of materials involves activities to accompany a book published by the U.S. Department of State entitled Celebrate: Holidays in the U.S.A. This book is a collection of readings on federal holidays and U.S. celebrations. The lessons we have designed complement these readings. They include speaking, listening, reading and writing activities for students at various proficiency levels in English.
The second set of materials includes a series of teaching activities designed to accompany a newly produced CD of traditional American songs. At the Summer Institute in Honolulu, Hawaii, you will receive a copy of this CD along with a copy of activities to accompany these songs. Again, these activities include speaking, listening, reading and writing activities for students at various proficiency levels.
One of the major objectives of the Summer Institute is for you to adapt these materials to your local teaching context. You will be also encouraged to share these materials with your colleagues when you return home. A second goal of the summer classes is for you to design a series of activities that deal with some aspect of American culture. Your stay in Hawaii will be a perfect opportunity for you to gather information on American culture and education on which to build teaching activities.
The classes will culminate in your presenting to the other participants your personal portfolio that you will have worked on throughout your three weeks in Hawaii. The following is a description of the various courses that will be held during the institute to accomplish the goals listed above.
Course Descriptions of Summer Classes
Session One – June 9th through June 18th
8:30-10:20 An Introduction to the Office of English Language Program (ECA/A/L)
ELT Materials (Instructor: Jean Kirschenmann)
The purpose of this course is to introduce you to the newly designed ECA/A/L materials and to suggest how the lessons might be adapted for various teaching contexts. By the end of the course you will be asked to demonstrate your familiarity with the materials by showing how one component of these materials could be used in your own teaching context.
10:40-12:30 Materials Evaluation and Design with a Focus on Language and Culture (Instructor: Sandy McKay)
This course has the following objectives:
· To critically examine the role of culture in language teaching;
· To design a checklist for evaluating classroom materials and apply these criteria to some of the materials you have used in your own classes; and
· To design a language lesson that presents one aspect of American culture in a culturally sensitive manner and exemplifies clear language learning objectives.
Session Two – June 19th through June 29th
8:30 – 10:20 Classroom Assessment (Instructor: Catherine Sajna)
The purpose of this course is to help you explore principles of needs assessment and classroom assessment. By the end of the course you will be asked to design a classroom assessment instrument that you could use in conjunction with the newly designed ECA/A/L materials.
10:40 – 12:30 Computer-mediated Language Learning (Instructor: Hanh Nguyen)
The purpose of this course is to demonstrate how computer technology can be used to enhance language teaching and learning. You will be introduced to project-based teaching methods, using a variety of websites, computer software and media that could be used in conjunction with language learning materials. By the end of the course, you will be asked to demonstrate how you can enhance lessons in the newly designed ECA/A/L materials with project learning and the use of available computer technology in your own teaching contexts.
On June 6, 2009 our small group of teachers having finished all diplomatic procedures in the Embassy of the United States of America in Moscow started our long -24 hours flight to Honolulu, the capital of the State of Hawaii, USA.
On arrival in the city we were greeted still at the airport and we were decorated with garlands of flowers. We put up at a Waikiki Marina Aqua Hotel in the center of a very prestigious district of the city within lots of modern beautiful hotels situated on the cost of the Pacific Ocean.
There we got acquainted with the rest participants of the Summer Institute from many countries of the world. In the group there were:
- 3 teachers from Burma (Myanmar)
- 7 teachers from Thailand,
- 1 teacher from Malaysia,
- 1 teacher from Philippines,
- 2 teachers from Indonesia,
- 1 teacher from Costa Rica,
- 1 teacher from Nicaragua,
- 1 teacher from Guatemala,
- 2 teachers from Mexico,
- 7 teachers from Russia.
The staff of the Hawaii Pacific University did their best to organize our workshops, accommodation and cultural program in the best possible way. The workshops were given by the most experienced lecturers: Ph.D. Sandra Mackay, Jean Kirschenmann, Catherine Sajna, and Hanh Nguyen.
By the end of the course we had to present portfolio materials which included four analyses of the books and students textbooks, a lesson plan and a PowerPoint presentation of the book “Celebrate”.
The Russian, Latin American and South East Asian nights produced a great impression upon us. All sites tried in a short form to give the rest of the present the traditions nad culture of their countries and provide them with their national dishes.
We finished our trip in Washington DC. The meeting with Maria Snarsky and the team of the staff responsible for different language programs held by the English Language Office of the State Department, editor in chief of the magazine “Forum”, representative of the VOA special English program Avi Aridi were very useful for our future work.
Visits to the Capitol, Newseum, and TESOL office made an unforgettable impression upon everybody. And finally – The Independence Day! The parade and the fireworks were awesome.
In this site I tried to show you how we studied and spent time in Hawaii.
